Whenever I teach, whether it be a public first aid course, at the college level or to my field students, the one thing I always tell them is that the best tools we have at anytime are our eyes and our brains. They are also the only tools we always have with us. Until we see and recognize a problem we can not make any decision about what we are going to do.

In the case of this scenario; recognition is the key and it is the best thing we can do for this person. First aid does not teach vital assessments, interventions or needs for detailed diagnosis. Recognizing the fact that this is a medical emergency, activitating 911, monitoring ABCs and being prepared to intervene if they go unresponsive is the basis of the first aid treatment in this case. I believe Eryny is one who said it best..it doesn't matter what the problem is per se; what truly matters is that you've recognized that there is a serious medical problem happening here and medical aid is required. This is a 911 call. The patient may say that they don't feel there is a significant problem but they can not stop you from calling 911 especially if your eyes and your brain is telling you that this situation is an emergency. This is definitely not a case where anyone wants to wait until the person has become unresponsive in order to do something. By then, it is too late.